Chapter Text
The Marauders were fresh out of Hogwarts, and ready to hit the beach.
“God, I can’t wait to feel that sea breeze,” James groaned, lying slumped in the grass in the shade of a tree, the Potter Mansion looming behind them.
“And the waves, and the sand,” Sirius agreed wistfully.
“And maybe finally getting out of this fucking heat,” Lily grumbled. She was pressed right up against the large beech tree, sunglasses perched on her nose and a thick layer of sunscreen covering her shoulders.
“I think it’s a record temperature this year,” Remus informed them, busy fanning Lily with the pages of his book. “The roads are melting and everything.”
“The roads aren’t the only thing melting,” Sirius said petulantly. James looked up at him with a grin.
“That’s ‘cause you’re as pale as a ghost, Black. Maybe if you actually tanned-”
“You know I can’t tan, Potter!”
“Boys,” Lily said warningly, and the two of them shut right up. Peter giggled, propping himself up on his elbows.
“Look at the pair of you, being Lily’s little bitches. If I didn’t know better, I would think you’re still whipped for her, Prongs.”
“Maybe I would be, if she hadn’t broken my heart,” James whined, clutching dramatically at his chest.
Lily shrugged remorselessly. “That’s what you get for trying to date a lesbian.”
“Speaking of lesbians,” Peter interrupted, “When’s Marlene gonna drag her arse up here? She lives literally five minutes away, and she’s still late.”
“She said she was going to pick up Dorcas,” James said. “The nearest apparition point is a few miles away, and she’s borrowing her dad’s truck.”
The Potters, Pettigrews and McKinnons all lived in the same muggle village, and apparition was heavily restricted after an incident with an old farmer at the bar a few years back. (Mr. Pettigrew still swears he had nothing to do with it).
“Well, she better hurry up,” Peter said, “Or I’m going to take all the good beach chairs.”
“Is everyone packed?” Lily asked, and was met with several guilty looks. “Oh, honestly. We’re leaving in an hour!”
“Uh, me and Moony were just about to go pack now,” Sirius said hurriedly. Remus frowned at him.
“I’ve already-”
“No, you haven’t,” Sirius said pointedly, and Remus’ expression cleared.
“Right,” he said quickly, jumping to his feet and pulling Sirius to his feet. “I forgot - socks. We’re just gonna… finish packing…”
They backed away through the long grass, matching innocent expressions on their faces, and disappeared back into the house.
“I don’t know who they think they're fooling,” Lily grumbled.
“It’s worse when you have to live with them,” Peter complained, “They used to lock me out of the dorm and claim they were ‘studying’, but I know for a fact that those thuds weren’t books-”
“Thank you for that visual, Pete,” James sighed. “Come on, we should go pack too. We’ll just avoid their room…”
The three of them wandered back to the house, but before they had reached the screen doors, a joyful voice hailed them from the lane leading up to the garden.
“OI! SHITHEADS!”
“Oh, lovely,” Lily sighed, turning to face the blonde girl bouncing up the path. “Hey, Marls.”
“Marlene!” James exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. “Finally. We were going to leave without you.”
“Please,” she scoffed. “I bet you haven’t even touched your suitcase.”
“You know me so well.”
“Hey guys,” came another voice, as Dorcas finally caught up to her exuberant girlfriend.
“Dorcas!” Lily smiled. “I’m so glad you decided to come.”
“Yeah, well, Marls asked,” she said, slinging an arm around Marlene. “And I couldn’t say no to a week on the beach.”
“Is, ah- Is Regulus with you?” James asked hopefully, but Dorcas shook her head.
“No, he and Barty and Evan are going to meet us there.”
James’ disappointment was extremely obvious, as he coughed awkwardly into his fist. “Oh. Right, that makes sense…”
“Don’t worry, Potter,” Dorcas said cheerfully, clapping him on the back. “You’ll have plenty of time to pine over him when we get there.”
She breezed past him, Marlene hot on her heels, and James turned to the other two, mortified. “I… I don’t…”
“It’s okay, mate,” Peter said sympathetically. “We already knew. You really aren’t too subtle.”
James gaped at him. “You… knew? Knew what?”
“About your insanely inappropriate crush on Regulus Black,” Lily said impatiently. “Keep up, Potter!”
James was speechless, but they didn’t give him time to defend himself, shepherding him into the house.
“Now, go pack,” Lily said sternly. “And you better not make us late!”
“Yeah, and make sure you bring the flamingo swim trunks,” Peter said gleefully. “I’m sure Regulus will looooveee those-”
James lunged for him, and Peter’s squeal echoed through the entire house.
An hour later, they were just about ready to go, with only a few minor incidents.
“I can’t find my sunglasses!” James yelled, rifling through all the drawers in his dresser.
“They’re on your shirt, Prongs, you fucking idiot,” Sirius shouted back from the bottom of the stairs. Euphemia clucked disapprovingly at him.
“Language, Sirius.”
“Sorry, mum.”
James looked down at his chest. His sunglasses were indeed hanging off the front of his shirt. He grabbed them, shoved them on his face, and joined the others outside.
“I don’t know how you’re going to fit all of those in the car, boys,” Monty was saying to Remus and Peter.
“But Monty, we need them!” Peter protested, gesturing wildly at the three floaties - a shark, a pineapple and a swan - that he had brought.
“All of them?”
“They’re all uniquely different.”
“They’re not going to fit like this, Peter,” Effie said, striding up to them. “But they will if you deflate them.”
She popped open the tab on each of them, letting all the air rush out of the blow-up pool toys.
“Aw,” Peter pouted. “Those took me ages to blow up.”
“It’s true,” Remus agreed. “He almost passed out.”
“Are you all ready to go now?” Euphemia asked, and the four boys nodded.
“Yup,” Sirius said, then paused. “Wait- no. I need to grab something quickly.”
He dashed back into the house, just as Lily came out.
“I said we’d pick up Mary on the way,” she said, “Is that okay?”
“Of course,” James said immediately. “But we’re probably going to have to take two cars.”
“I can ask my dad if I can borrow his truck again?” Marlene offered, and James nodded.
“Sounds good. Who’s going with who?”
“Well, me and Remus are the only ones who have their licence,” Marlene said, “So… me, Dorcas and Lily will pick up Mary, and then you boys can go together.”
“Yes!” Peter cheered, pumping the air with his fist. “Marauders reunion!”
“What do you mean, reunion?” Marlene huffed. “You’ve been attached at the hip since we left school.”
“It’s a metaphorical reunion, Marls.”
“That’s not what metaphorical means, dumbass-”
“Well, you better get going if you want to get there before dark,” Effie said, bustling back out of the house. “Here are the keys for the beach house.”
“Thank you so much for letting us stay there,” Lily said as Effie handed her the keys.
“It’s no problem, dear,” Effie said, smiling at her. James gawked, outraged.
“Why does she get the keys!?”
“Because I trust her with them more than you,” Effie said, squinting at her son. “Now, get a move on, daft boy.”
“We’re just waiting for Sirius,” James said grumpily, but then the door opened and Sirius came flying out, arms full of cassette tapes.
“Ta-da!” he cried. “No road trip is complete without music.”
“What did you get?” Remus said eagerly, craning his neck to peer at the tapes, but Sirius only waggled his eyebrows.
“Wait and see, Moons, wait and see.”
“Let’s go then!” said James, leading the way to the car. Dorcas’ jaw dropped when she saw it.
“That is one nice car,” she breathed, staring at the red Alfa Romeo spider.
“Why, thank you Dorcas,” Monty said, puffing out his chest. The car was his pride and joy, and James was shocked he’d let them borrow it in the first place.
“Now, there better not be a scratch on it when you get back,” he said sternly, and the boys gulped.
“Just kidding,” he grinned, and they relaxed. “To be honest, there’s nothing you could possibly do that a little bit of magic won’t fix.”
“You’re the best, dad!” Sirius cried, slipping into the passenger seat and dumping his armful of tapes into the glovebox.
“I try, son, I try,” Monty said fondly.
The girls waved them off as they set off back down the path that led to Marlene’s house, on their way to pick up the truck. They would meet them at the beach house, hopefully before dark.
After saying their goodbyes to Effie and Monty, they were on their way, racing down the narrow village lanes with the top of the car down and the wind in their hair.
“Damn this blasted thing,” Sirius grunted, fiddling with the tape player.
“Try turning it around,” James suggested helpfully from the back seat, and Sirius scowled.
“Don’t mansplain to me, Potter-”
He turned it around, and the tape clicked into place. James grinned in satisfaction.
“That’s not how mansplaining works,” Peter pointed out, but Sirius only huffed in annoyance as the song started.
Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove
“Yeahhh!” Sirius cheered, bad mood forgotten, and James whooped as well. Remus only shook his head, but reached over to turn up the volume.
Ah-ah, child, way you shake that thing
Gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting
“This is my song!” yelled Sirius, and before he knew it, James paused his singing and looked over to see a very large black dog sitting in the passenger seat.
Remus and Peter were also belting out the lyrics, and Sirius was barking along, and soon the four of them descended into laughter as Led Zeppelin played in the background.
Won’t tell me no lies, make me a happy man
They managed to get through all of the tapes in the three hour drive, and were on their third replay of Aladdin Sane when Sirius sat bold upright from where he had been snoozing on Remus’ shoulder.
“I smell the salt,” he declared.
“We’re pretty close,” Remus said, checking the map he had spread across his lap. “Just a few more kilometres to go.”
“I’m so hungry,” Peter moaned, “Can we get something to eat?”
“No, Pete,” Remus said impatiently, “We need to get to the house. You can have something to eat there.”
“There’s not going to be anything good,” Peter whined. “I’m not eating some mouldy sardines that have been sitting in the cupboard for six years!”
“Fine,” Remus sighed, wrenching the steering wheel and taking a left so hard it had the rest of them clinging onto their seats.
“Jesus, Moony!” James gasped, clutching the door for dear life as the car swerved. “Who let you get a driving licence?”
“Stuff it, Prongs.”
Eventually, they pulled into the parking lot of a tiny grocery store, and Remus cut the engine. “Come on,” he yawned. “I’m tired, let’s make this quick.”
“Is this where muggles get their food?” James said in awe.
“It’s amazing,” breathed Sirius.
Remus stared at them incredulously. “It’s a mini mart. Don’t get too excited.”
They wandered into the store, and Peter and Sirius immediately started grabbing things off the shelves. James sidled up to Remus.
“Do you have any muggle money?” he asked, and Remus nodded.
“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll pay. I think you and Sirius might have an aneurysm if you had to handle it.”
James laughed. “Fair enough. I’ll pay you back, my money’s in my suitcase.”
Remus stiffened. “You don’t have to.”
“It’s fine, Moony.”
“You’re always buying shit for me,” Remus insisted. “I can cover a few snacks.”
“I’m not saying you can’t.”
Remus cast him a suspicious look, and he raised his hands defensively. “Seriously, Moons. It’s just a little money. Relax.”
It was clear Remus didn’t want to drop it, but he didn’t say anything else. Sirius and Peter returned, clutching a few bags of crisps and some chocolate.
“Look, Moons, I got you some chocolate,” Sirius said brightly, and James had to stifle a laugh as Sirius presented the bar to Remus. He really did act like a dog sometimes.
“Thanks, Sirius,” Remus said, clearly amused, and they paid for their stuff and went back to the car.
“It’s just down here,” James said a few minutes later as they approached the turn-off, leaning forward and gesturing to the lane.
Remus followed his instructions, and the car bounced down the bumpy path, headlights illuminating the rough ground. The sun had just gone down, and the shadows were growing longer.
“I read somewhere that sea air is supposed to be really good for you,” Peter said wisely, and Sirius snorted.
“You read something?”
“Yes,” Peter said defensively. “I read. Sometimes.”
“Well, I’m astounded. I didn’t know you knew how to do that.”
“Stop bickering,” James said as Remus braked sharply, and the car came to a juddering halt. “We’re here.”
The beach house stood before them in all its glory, a modest two-story building with a wrap-around terrace, the sound of crashing waves in the distance.
“Thank Merlin,” Sirius sighed, pushing open the door and staggering out of the car.
The girls had somehow beaten them there, even with their delayed departure, and the lights were on inside. They grabbed their suitcases out of the boot, and struggled up the steps to the bright blue door.
It hadn’t escaped James’ notice that another car was parked outside, next to Marlene’s dad’s truck.
“Honey, I’m home!” yelled Sirius as they dumped their luggage in the entrance hall.
“Fucking finally,” Marlene’s voice drifted back from the kitchen, and they followed the sound to find everyone else gathered around the driftwood kitchen table.
Lily and Mary were sat down one end, with Marlene and Dorcas next to them, and on the other end were Barty, Evan, and blonde ravenclaw that James vaguely recognised, and next to them-
Regulus.
He felt his cheeks go warm, and thanked the heavens above that he couldn’t turn red.
“Reggie!” Sirius yelled joyfully, lunging forward to grab his brother in a headlock.
“Ugh- Get off, Sirius!” Regulus shoved Sirius off of him, but he was smiling, and then people were getting up and greeting them, and everything was a bit chaotic.
James couldn’t take his eyes off Regulus.
He was still smiling next to Sirius, and his black curls were tousled, falling just below his ears. He had grown a couple inches since the last time James had seen him, and he was wearing a short-sleeved grey t-shirt that dipped low enough to expose his collarbones. Those lovely collarbones-
“You’re staring, Jamie,” cooed Marlene as she came up next to him, digging an elbow into his side.
“Ouch- Marlene!”
She snorted. “You’re gonna have to reign it in a little bit if you don’t want Sirius catching on.”
James glanced nervously at his best friend, then back at Regulus. “I can’t help it, Marls, he’s just so pretty-”
She snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he jerked backwards, then focused on her again. “Get it together, Potter,” she hissed. “Don’t ruin our holiday just because you can’t keep it in your pants.”
“Oi, that’s not-”
“Glad you understand.” she smiled up at him angelically, then smacked him smartly on the ass and waltzed off to join Dorcas and Evan and Barty.
“She’s a fucking menace,” James grumbled under his breath, then cast one last longing look at Regulus before going to join Lily and Mary.
“Oh, good, there you are,” she said brightly, grabbing James by the arm. “I want to introduce you to someone.”
She gestured to the blonde girl that had been sitting next to Regulus earlier. “James, this is Pandora. She’s in my potions club. Pandora, this is James Potter.”
“Oh, I know who he is,” Pandora smiled up at him. “Regulus talks about him a lot.”
James blinked. “He does? What- what does he say?”
“That you’re an arrogant, egotistical piece of shit,” she informed him, and Lily giggled.
“Well, I have to agree with him there.”
“Hey,” James protested, and she patted him on the arm fondly before turning back to Pandora.
“So, what you said earlier about the use of gillyweed-”
James tuned out their conversation, too focused on what Pandora had said. Regulus talked about him. A lot. Sure, maybe he didn’t say very nice things, but he still talked about him.
He was going to count that one as a win.
“Hey, Prongs, come help us with this!” Sirius yelled. He and Remus were trying to get the fire going, but they weren’t having much luck. Probably because Sirius kept whispering dirty things in Remus’ ear every time he tried to light it.
James went over to help them, and by the time they finally got the fire going - it was a shocking shade of blue because of the driftwood they had used - Peter had broken out the snacks.
“What the fuck is a frazzle?” Barty said, staring at the red packet.
“I dunno, mate, but it’s bloody good,” Peter replied around a mouthful of bacon-flavoured crisps.
Barty picked up one cautiously, inspecting the chip before popping it in his mouth.
“Huh,” he said curiously after a couple seconds. “Maybe the muggles are onto something. These things are good.”
By the time all the snacks were gone, the fire was burning low, and there were many yawns among the assembled group.
“Where’s everyone going to sleep?” asked Lily, and James cleared his throat.
“There are six bedrooms,” he said, counting them off in his head, “Four of them sleep two, one sleeps three and there’s one single room.”
“I dibs the single room!” Mary said immediately. “There’s no way in hell I’m sharing with any of you lot.”
“You shared a room with me and Lils for seven years?” Marlene said, offended.
“And I never want to repeat the experience.”
“Me and Remus will share,” Sirius said quickly, and James groaned.
“Okay, you can take the attic room. I don’t want you two sleeping anywhere near me.”
“Wait, why?” Regulus asked, confused, and Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Regulus immediately buried his face in his hands.
“Okay, nevermind. Disgusting. I don’t want to know.”
“Me, Ev and Reg will take the one that sleeps three,” Barty said, and Evan nodded in agreement.
“It’ll be just like school.”
“Joy,” Regulus muttered, re-emerging from his hands now that his brother had stopped hinting at his sex life.
“I’ll share with Pandora, then,” Lily said. “If that’s okay with you?” She looked to Pandora, who nodded.
“Yes, that sounds good.”
“And that leaves you and me, Pete,” said James, clapping his hands together. He looked over at Marlene. “Unless you want to room with me, McKinnon?”
She wrinkled her nose at him, clutching onto Dorcas’ arm. “Absolutely not. Hell will freeze over before I sleep anywhere near you.”
“Good choice,” advised Sirius. “He snores.”
“Well, get some sleep, everyone!” Lily said, clambering to her feet. “We have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Oh, fantastic, Evans is breaking out the itinerary!” James cheered. “Next she’ll be organising a chore rota.” Lily shot him a dirty look.
“Careful, Potter, or I’ll stick you on toilet cleaning duty.”